Life in a homeowners association (HOA) community is supposed to make things easier, neat lawns, tidy neighborhoods, and a sense of order. But for one Georgia man, it’s turning into a nightmare worthy of its own reality TV show. George Watson, a 77-year-old resident of Cobb County, has lived in the Cedarlake Townhome community since 2001. Now, after two decades in his home, he’s fighting tooth and nail to keep it, all because of a pressure-washing dispute that spiraled way out of control.
The trouble began during the pandemic, when Watson developed a phobia of mail and stopped checking his mailbox altogether. While that might sound quirky, the consequences in Georgia are no laughing matter. By the time he finally opened his mail in late 2022, he discovered that the HOA had piled on thousands in fines and legal fees, per The Daily Mail.
What started with minor violations, like leaving a bucket of water outside, storing a ladder too long, and, yes, algae on the siding, quickly ballooned into a staggering $6,000 bill. “Sounds unbelievable,” one person wrote online.
Georgia Man With Mail Phobia Fights HOA
And that was just the beginning. According to Watson, his HOA tacked on legal fees and penalties for things he insists he had already addressed, including pressure washing. He even borrowed equipment from a neighbor to clean his home, but because he didn’t “confirm in writing” that the job was done, the HOA treated it like it never happened. It sounds more like a bad sitcom plot than a real-life situation in Georgia, but sadly, it’s very real and very costly…